Continuing advances in miniaturization of electronic devices, increases in computation capabilities and decreasing costs to manufacture such devices have lead to a rapid development and availability of electronic devices having advanced capabilities. This technology has not only found its way into existing devices but has made possible new forms of devices, particularly in the consumer area. For example, digital still cameras are supplementing and often replacing conventional photographic film cameras. Portable cassette players are giving way to solid-state MP-3 players capable of storing hours of audio material on a digital memory media. Cellular telephones and pagers increasingly include advance two-way messaging capabilities and provide Internet access.
Typically, such portable electronic devices include an integral display panel in the form of, for example, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and various input devices including, for example, switches, button, cursor positioning devices, compact keyboards, eye position detectors, touch panel overlays, speech recognition capabilities, etc. Using the various input devices provided and the integral display capabilities, a typical portable electronic device enables a user to make various selections for control of the device and processing of data by the device. Typically, this control capability is in the form of software or firmware enabled graphical user interface providing a hierachal menu structure for selection of device specific options.
The user interface enabled by these devices, including the menu structure, cannot only be complicated but confusing to the user. Accordingly, a need exists for an apparatus for and a method of providing an improved user interface.